Of Fish and Toads
by FluffytehMuffin
Summary: A dying wish and a mysterious scroll. At the request of her mother Midori finds herself on a trip she hoped she'd never have to take. Find your father. Midori doesn't even know where to start! Not to mention she's not exactly bursting with joy to find the man. A promise is a promise.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N**_ I am going to continue Turning From the Sun! I promise. I just had another plot bunny nestle in my brain. Well... actually there's like fifty million of them. They get to breeding ya know? Anyway. This story I've actually been fiddling with for about a month now. I'm super excited because it revolves around one of my favorite characters!

_**Disclaimer: **_I don't own Naruto.

* * *

_**"Refreshing, isn't it?" we say  
A summer sky as clear as day  
Let's breathe the air, try not to cry  
It's time to say our goodbyes**_

* * *

"Hikari-chan! It has to be a steady stream! If you keep on like that you're going to fall." I chided the eight year old as she waved her arms to keep balance. Yagami, her brother, snickered next to her as he ducked to avoid a flailing arm. Twins until the end those two. A grin found my lips as the green haired girl stabilized. Despite their antics I had to hand it to them, they were going to make great shinobi.

"Eh, Gami-baka keeps pushing me!" she whined. Yagami threw his hands up innocently, but I knew the brat better. He was quick, but I saw him nudging her foot. Nothing escaped my eyes. Even as his sister accused him he nudged her subtly. Previous statement retracted. They would make great shinobi's if they ever figured out how to grow up.

"You'll be a lot worse off if you fall Hikari-chan." the two were hanging upside down on a branch. Would I actually let her fall? No, but she needed to learn to stop whining. Threatening seemed to do the trick with her. Hikari was so used to being treated like a princess. A little tough love would do her good.

"Yagami-kun, how do you expect your comrade to trust you if you keep sabotaging them?" I chided the boy. He gave a defeated sigh and grabbed one of her arms.

"Hai." he droned in a bored manner. "When can we learn the cool stuff? This is boring."

"Oi, bratling, don't you start whining too." Hikari let out an offended scoff and her brother simply sighed. "Besides, Akio-sensei will have my hide if I don't leave him anything to teach."

Words I'd repeated before. First to the the blonde haired boy in Hacho Village. He'd been the least promising of them all. I'd only been thirteen then, but I wanted to help him defend himself from bullies. When I was fourteen it was a girl in Saga valley. Her mother was a whore, and I didn't want to see the same thing happen to her. So I taught her to fight. Now I was sixteen and the twins of Kisaragi Village were my pet project.

All I wanted to do was make a bit of difference in this harsh world. Having no village to truly call my own gave me literally no direction in my life. There was no governing body to tell me what to do. No one besides my mother to keep me from being idle.

Kaa-san was a shinobi I think. She'd taught me since I was young how to fight. Every where we went she did small jobs that were to sensitive for nobles to use shinobi from hidden villages. In other words, she was a mercenary that did the dirty work of nobles. We moved constantly from place to place. Never staying for to long in the fear of being caught. I don't know what she was running from, but our constant movement made it hard to make friends. Kaa-chan and I had always been on our own...

"Midori-san!" a shrill voice called from the trees behind me. Turning I looked to to see a dark haired woman running our way. She paused a good distance from us to catch her breath. That look on her face told me enough. Fear bubbled in the bottom of my stomach. Hikari made a questioning noise.

Show no emotion.

"First one to fall has to do the others chores for a week. I leave it to you brats." I winked before darting off to the new comer. Both of the twins shouted after me. Not but a second later I heard them both com crashing down. Normally I would find this amusing, but my sole focus was now on the dark haired woman.

"Hana?" there was a shrillness to my voice as I appeared in front of her in the blink of an eye.. Not now. Please not now.

"Akane-sama.." the drop in her tone made my stomach do flips. Her mouth turned down in a frown, and what little of a good mood I had disappeared. She didn't need to say any more to me. Not bothering to wait on her I took off towards the elaborately styled building not far from here. As I lept away the only thought on my mind was that she better not die before I get there. If she died I would never forgive her.

* * *

The amount of noise I made entering our home would make one hard pressed to believe I was trained in the shinobi arts. A passerby probably would think me a terrible ninja instead of being the complete bad ass that I am. Even though it was structurally superior to most of the buildings around us, the home we'd been 'given' by the local lord shook as I flung the door open. Servants scattered as I stormed past them. Not bothering to take off my shoes I tracked a line of mud behind me. Let them glare at me. Glaring was better then the sympathetic stares I got most of the time. I didn't want their pity. I didn't want their understanding.

Standing at the door to my Kaa-can's room was the medic and her assistant. I paused a moment and glared at her. She opened her mouth and spoke, but I didn't hear. Did they take me for an idiot? At sixteen years old I could handle the fact that mother way dying. I'd seen people die before. What difference did it make that this was my mother? Steeling myself I locked away the emotions churning in my belly. Stiffly I stood and waited for them to leave.

"Stop brooding." came my Kaa-chan's voice from the other side of the door. Biting the inside of my cheek I slowly opened the door. "Come, sit by me, little koi, Kaa-chan has a story to tell you."

I will not cry.

Quietly I went to my mother's side. In the dim candle light her brown hair gleamed red. Her name sake.. Green eyes that once sparkled were dull with weakness. Even motioning for me to come over seemed like a feat. Sighing I sat on the bed and curled in her lap like I was a child. Her hand ran through my hair, and I felt the smallest spark of happiness. If only we could stay like this.

"Its time I told you about your father." happiness slipped through my fingers as it evaporated. One thing I could careless about was the dead beat that left us alone. A chuckled slipped from her as her hands danced along my tensing back muscles. Softly she tugged at a long strand of my hair. "You will listen. There are things you have to know, and I.. don't have the time to go into detail."

"I don't see what he has to do with this situation." I said dejectedly. My cheeks puffed into a pout and I shifted to look at her.

"Quite a grudge you carry on your shoulders, koi." she said in an amused manner. "When I'm gone he'll be all you have left in this world."

"Sixteen years I've lived with out him. Besides, what can he do for me that I can't already do by myself?"

"Your father is a great shinobi. I suppose that's why I was so keen on having in my bed." her eyes got misty as she got lost in a memory. "Ah, and I was not disappointed."

"Kaa-chan!" came my mortified reply. Sitting up I held my head as I willed away the image of my mother mattress dancing with a man. She laughed again. Something rasped in the back of her throat and she coughed. The time was coming.

"You and him are more a like then you realize. I want you to find him."

"Absolutely not"

"Would you deny your mother's dying wish?"

"That's got to be cheating."

"Well?"

Tch, leave it to her to guilt me into doing something I didn't want to do. Despite the heaving of her chest as she strained to breath my mother was giving me a cheeky grin. How could I say no to that face? Completely and utterly unfair for her to force me into this, but seeing her carefree attitude unaffected by her impending death softened my heart.

"Even if I wanted to . I wouldn't even know where to start. Unless you can summon him or something." a last ditch effort to keep from doing this. Let me just stay. I wanted to hold her hand as she lef this world. I wanted to be here to comfort her.

"Jaa!" from nowhere she produced a scroll. The corner of my eye twitched."This should get you started. He left it for me that night. Said if I ever wanted to see him again I just had to use what was inside."

"So let me get this straight. You want me to use directions in a scroll that's over sixteen years old to find a man that could very well be dead?" I asked snatching it from her.

"That's the plan! Wait!" she stopped me as I went to open it. I raised an eyebrow as I looked at her. I was going to miss her. Spirits I was going to miss her. Don't think about it. Shinobi and emotion are not compatible. Squash it. Don't let her down.

"Promise me, Midori. Promise me you'll give him a chance." she was using my name. Shit, that means I can't say no.

"Yeah, yeah, but that doesn't mean I'll like him. Will that make you happy?"

"Very much so." she said with a content hum. Patting my hair she leaned back on her pillows. "I know you don't understand, but I think he'll love you as much as I do when he gets to know you. There's no one who could not like my precious Midori. Though I'm not sure he'll ever love you as much as I do."

"Well duh, Kaa-chan loves me the most. But I love Kaa-chan more then water, and that's saying something you know." it was an old joke of ours. We'd always go back on saying 'I love you' before bed. It turned into a weird thing. We'd always declare our love in some over the top nonsensical way. It got a laugh out of her.

"I love you more then life itself." my heart clenched. "Now open it."

Despite my effort to keep my face stone like a tear managed to worm its way down my cheek. Quickly wiped it away. I would not mourn until she was truly gone. Until then I would always be her smiling child. Until she drew her last breath I would keep her happy. Forcing a small smile I fiddled with the seal on the scroll. Slicing it with my nail I opened it.

"Ja ne, koi." was the last thing I heard from my mother as smoke erupted around me.

* * *

Question of the day

_**What are your favorite colors?**_!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N** Long chapter since I took so long to update this story.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto

* * *

_**Crave a home I've never had**_  
_**Though I guess it ain't too bad**_  
_**"Let's just leave and go back home"**_  
_**Take my hand and fly away**_

* * *

"Kaa-chan!" I screeched as the white smoke clouded my vision. There was a moment of weightlessness, and I readied myself to fall off the bed. Except I never hit the polished wooden floors of that overly luxurious manor. Wind rustled my hair and the smoke dispersed.

For the love of...

A string of incoherent curses ran through my mind. White hair tangled in my face as I looked down to see the ground fast approaching. Placing the scroll between my teeth I started forming hand signs. Fast. The last thing I wanted was to pancake onto the ground. My little adventure would be over pretty quick if that happened. Molding my chakra I changed the solid Earth inside of me to wind. Using my arms to direct my momentum I started to spin.

Air gathered around me and my dizzying twirl started to get faster and faster. Soon enough I had a small little cyclone surrounding me. Once the spinning air was established I stopped my body so that I sat in the middle of my own personal twister. A mental check on my chakra left me feeling miffed. Wind was always so draining on my system. Concentrating hard I directed the wind to push up on me so I would descend at a slower pace.

Eventually my feet planted on solid ground. A nice layer of sweat had formed on my brow. Groaning with the relief of not being a flat dead mess I dropped to my knees. A bit dramatic, but honestly I could give two shits right about now. My stomach was a jumble of butterflies and nausea. Avoiding death had not been on my list of things to do today.

In fact.

Of all the things that could have come from that stupid scroll. A map would have been the most useful. Not that a giant X on a map would mean sixteen years later this ass hole would be in the same spot, but I could at least work with a map. With a map I could convince myself that a few months worth of searching was enough to keep a clear conscience. A letter with some cryptic description of any given location would have been the next viable option. Maybe some kind of trinket left as a token of endearment. A compass? SOMETHING.

No, I got a fucking summoning scroll?

Is that even what this was?

Fuming I pulled the scroll from my mouth and finished unraveling it. Sure enough there was a mess of seals that made absolutely no sense to me. Sealing wasn't exactly an easy art to learn. Even harder still when you didn't have anyone to teach you. All of those nonsensical symbols sat there on the pretty whiteness mocking me.

"Of all the stupid, ridiculous, USELESS things you could have possibly left." I screeched in fury scrambling to my feet. "Couldn't have left something practical could you? Stupid man and your stupid stupid scroll!"

The last part was said pretty loud. Something between a scream and snarl slipped through my lips. Squeezing my green eyes shut I turned a random direction and threw the thing as hard as I could. What followed was not hearing the stupid scroll disappear into the forest. That was what I wanted to hear. Instead I was met with a grunt and the sound of that infernal thing hitting the ground. It even had the audacity to roll back and hit my foot. Hands clenched and the corner of my left eye twitched. Now I had to apologize to the dolt I had assaulted.

Deep breaths Midori.

Opening my eyes I felt that deep calming breath catch in my throat. Sitting or was it standing? Regardless, in front of me was a giant freaking frog. Probably my size in terms of height. He, definitely looked like a he (I'm not about to check for parts either!), was rubbing his head from where he'd no doubt been hit. I stood there and gaped like an idiot. Not only was this frog giant, but between his lips was a cigarette?

"You.. You're.. a frog?" that got his attention.

"Toad. I'm a toad lady."

* * *

"This can't be happening." I had a hand on my forehead as I paced back and forth. "First that stupid scroll. Now a talking frog!"

"Toad! Right here, lady." he snapped at me his eye now twitching. I cringed feeling a little guilty.

"My bad. My bad. I just wasn't ready to see a talking fro...er..toad." I sighed and stopped pacing. My nerves were still going crazy, but I needed to cool it on the crazy act. You know what. What the hell. Abandoning my cautious nature, which was almost non existent to begin with, I planted myself next to him on the ground.

"Seeing a human come falling out the sky wasn't exactly on my to do list either." he took a drag of his cig. Smoking talking toads. I had to be hallucinating. "How the hell did you get up there anyway?"

Sighing, as I seemed to be doing a lot of that now, I ruffled my hair a bit. There was still plenty of adrenaline cruising through my veins, but I felt the crash coming. Lazily I kicked the scroll. We both watched it spin and roll just a few feet away. Frog-man gave me a confused side ways look and I shrugged my shoulders. I had plenty of reasons to hate the stupid thing.

"Present from my father, who ever the hell he may be. Opened the damn thing and _poof_, one minute I'm in Kisaragi and the next I'm here." I grumbled.

"Sounds like our pops would get along. Mine would probably drop me from a cliff he knew I'd stolen some of his smokes. " he dead panned. My green eyes dilated as my initial reaction was to take laugh at the sarcasm. He could also be deadly serious. The look on his face said he was serious. What kind of lives did frogs lead? Why were they talking...

"Eh? You're pretty big though. I'd imagine he'd have a hard time carrying you." Frog-man was looking at me wide eyed now. Shit. I just called him fat didn't I? There was a really awkward moment of silence before he broke out in laughter. Not the chuckling kind of laughter, but straight up booming laughter.

"Thanks for the compliment, lady. Not every day some one doesn't call me short." I smiled my eyes still blank. I had no freaking idea what he was talking about.

"Short?" I asked almost robotically.

"Yeah, Pops is probably fifteen times my height." he was rather nonchalant about it. My heart stopped as my head did the math. My eyes turned up towards the sky as I visualized a frog... fifteen times..taller.

Where the eff had I landed myself?

* * *

After having another internal melt down we got around to pleasantries. Gamakichi was his name. He had one brother, Gamatatsu. Then there was his 'pops' ,Gamabunta. There was no mention of a mother so I left it alone. Not to mention I had enough names to deal with. If they had been different that would have been way easier to remember. No, I gets stuck with three Gama-somethings. Uhg. I'd need to get creative with nick names.

As for my location... Some place called Mount Myoboku. Apparently this is were all the fro..toads lived. He went on to name some of them, but he lost me after the fifth Gama-insert ending here. Perhaps I was just being rude. For the most part Gamakichi didn't seem that bad. He was a sarcastic prat, but that made him more endearing to be completely honest. Now, I just need to figure out why the scroll dropped me here of all places.

"Alright, don't tell anyone about the smokes. Go it?" he said looking around nervously as he smothered the thing in the dirt. I restrained the urge to giggle as he swiftly buried it.

"Yeah, yeah. You really think I'd nark on you?" I elbowed him slightly. Big surprise. He didn't move. I sighed and let out a long humming noise. "That smell, though. How are you going to explain that?"

His eyes about popped out of his skull. Lifting his arms he waved them around trying to catch a wiff of what ever I was smelling. I was only teasing. There really wasn't a smell to him. A bit of the smoke lingered in the air, but that would most likely be gone by the time we got to where ever it was we were going.

"Just kidding Gama-baka." I said smiling.

"Why am I helping you again?" he asked in an irritated voice. My grin widened. He was pretending to be mad at me, but I saw his amusement. Good, let me get on his good side. That way he wouldn't try to eat me he'd think twice. Emotional attachment and what not.

"Cause I called you tall remember?" my tone was matter of fact. He shook his head and hopped ahead of me.

I win!

Kaa-chan would be proud knowing I was making new friends. Giant toads to be exact. I wonder how she'd react to that. If she'd been in my place she probably would have tried to kill Gamakichi with out even asking questions. Act first as questions later. That was the kind of person Kaa-chan was... is...

I hesitated in following the orange toad towards the weird yellow hut thing down the hill. A sudden pressure welled up behind my eyes. I would not think about this right now. I would NOT think about this right now. A mantra I repeated over and over again as I pressed the heels of my palms into my eyes. There would be a time to grieve, and now was not that time.

Inhale. Take another breath.

A grin slowly crept back onto my face and I jogged to catch up with Gamakichi. I don't understand why he couldn't just point me the direction of the best way out of this place. Something about seeing some of his elders or something. I wondered what all of this had to do with finding my father. Probably nothings. For all I know this was some ploy to serve me up for dinner.

* * *

Something yummy hit my nose and my stomach gurgled quietly. Whom ever was in that weird hut thing was cooking. Maybe me becoming dinner wasn't to far off the mark. Idly I ran my right hand over the pouch of shuriken on my hip. Next to it there was a slightly fuller pouch with kunai. Mentally I smacked myself for leaving my explosive seals in my room. I'd spent a pretty penny on those. Spirits willing I got out of this place I'd have to buy more.

"No need for that, girl." came a voice from my right. "We're all friends here."

Instinct caused my grip on the kunai to tightened, but I didn't pull it from the pouch. Gamakichi finally took notice of my quietness. Up until this point we'd been talking about nonsense. I'm honestly shocked he didn't take notice of my silence earlier. Switching my gaze from the orange toad I found myself looking at a much small one. Despite the size difference this particular one seemed to be Gamakichi's elder.

We stared at each other for a good few minutes. Me trying to figure out whether or not I was going to be eaten, and he was probably just assessing me. I wasn't sure what these toads were capable of. I knew very well I could put up a pretty damn good fight if need be. They had the home advantage. No telling how many of them there were hiding about.

"You say friend. Why do I have a feeling I could potentially be lunch?" I asked in a friendly enough tone. The old toad and Gamakichi exchanged a look before laughing. Leaving me standing there feeling like an idiot.

"You thought.. we were going to eat you?" Gamakichi asked trying to hold back his laughter. The tips of my ears got hot and I imagined my face turning bright red.

"Oi! Gama-baka, it isn't that funny!" I fumed. At this point his laughter became uncontrollable. He fell back on his back with two fins on his stomach. Hardy har har. Lets make fun of the human whose never seen a giant toad before. How was I supposed to know what they ate.

Old man winter stopped laughing before jerk face Gamakichi. We both waited a few more moments for the orange toad to compose himself. At this point I was ready to smash my face into a near by wall. When he was finished with his laughing fit he righted himself and wiped a few tears from his eyes. With a hearty _slap _he hit me on the back with a fin/foot/hand.

"Wow, I haven't laughed like that since hearing Naruto try and sing for the first time." he took another deep breath before clearing his throat. "Gramps this is Midori. Midori this is Gramps."

"Nice to meet you." I inclined my head at the older toad. He nodded back before hopping towards the hut.

"Nice to meet you as well. How did you come to find us Midori-san?" he was being polite, and that didn't fit my style well. Not that his disposition rubbed me the wrong way. I just did not do polite. My manners needed some work.

"Scroll of doom as I'm not starting to call it." I said holding the thing up. A head cocked to the side, and he didn't even have to ask. I tossed the stupid scroll his direction. With quiet curiosity he examined it.

"Where did you get this, girl?" he asked gently. I shrugged my shoulders. He obviously found this scroll to hold some importance. Good. He could keep it. I could honestly careless if I saw it again.

"A gift from my father. If you could call him that." bitterness crept into my voice. Yup, not letting the whole falling from the sky thing go for a long time.

"Your father!" he exclaimed. I recoiled a bit at his surprise. Shit maybe I would get some answers here. Not sure if that is a bad sign or a good one.

"Well... He didn't give it to me directly. Kaa-chan said it would help me find him. All I did was open it and _poof_ I'm suddenly a bird." I moved my hands at the poof to add a bit of drama to my story. "Not sure how this place is supposed to help me. No offense that is. Unless my father is a toad himself."

"You couldn't be further from the truth, girl." he stated in a way that didn't bode very well. I had a feeling I was about to get some truth that I didn't want to hear. "We know your father quite well."

"Oh dear god. He is a toad." I squeaked. I fell back on my rear and put a hand on my forehead. "My father is a toad. A TOAD. Does this mean I'm going to get warts? No! My face is to pretty for that!"

"Hey you say that as if it were a bad thing!" Gamakichi snapped.

"That's because you're a toad!" I whined on the verge of hyperventilating. Suddenly something hard hit the side of my head. Gramps had decided my fit of hysteria needed to end. Oddly enough I appreciated the slap. My head cleared right up.

Having a father that was a toad was stupid.

I was being an idiot.

* * *

After composing myself I followed Fukasaku, as Gramps told me his real name, and Gama-baka into the little hut. No sooner did we walk in did something get thrown. Gramps merely tilted his head to the side to dodge a spoon aimed at his skull. My eye twitched as the thing embedded into the wall. Gama-baka tensed a bit, and I resisted the urge to duck behind something.

"You're late!" a voice screamed from another room. Another, big surprise here, toad came out of what I assumed was a kitchen. In her hand was another giant spoon. All of the hairs on the back of my neck began to rise at the sight of a potentially dangerous weapon.

"Calm down, Ma. We have company." Fukasaku said almost impatiently. Ma's eye drifted over my direction. Again I froze. Gama-baka cleared his throat and shoved me forward. Time to turn on the charm.

"You're not going to hit me are you?"

….

Nailed it.

Ma grinned at me and waved the spoon in a non threatening way. Her eyes covered the entirety of my body, and for some odd reason she start to get very excited. She started hopping around me. I guess to get a better look. She may or may not have man handled me for a second, but that is twenty times better then having a metal cooking utensil embedded in my skull.

"She looks just like him!" came her approving voice. "Why didn't he tell us about you before?"

Behind me the guys got a little uncomfortable. I heard Gamakichi shift slightly and Gramps cleared his throat. For some reason I didn't find myself offended. There was no way for her to know what was happening. Instead I found a humorless grin crawling onto my lips.

"Well, I've been waiting for an answer to that particular question for sixteen years. I was hoping you guys could actually help me with that."

Adults have this weird way of having conversations with their eyes. I got this overwhelming feeling that they were trying to hide something from me. There was information being passed via eyeballs as I stood there feeling really out of place. Finally Gramps let out a grunt.

"Why don't we all sit down. This is going to take a while." Ma nodded in agreement before disappearing into the kitchen.

Dammit

Maybe this scroll wasn't so stupid after all.


	3. Chapter 3

**_A/N:_**Been way to long since I've updated this story. I'm SO sorry. Should be back to regular updates now~! Thank you for being patience!

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

_**Like they all say, found a rock to just crawl under and hide**_  
_**And never think about the moon or sun that roll in the sky**_  
_**Why was I born, why did I even have to endure?**_  
_**In the end, I'm just sure**_

* * *

Sleep was not something I worried about that night. I don't think I would have been able to if I tried. My brain just wouldn't turn the hell off. Our little 'talk', them doing most of the talking, left me with a lot to think about. Again I'm using the wrong words. Thinking was an act rational human beings did. I was fuming. I was brimming with frustration and a deep seated anger that I hadn't felt since I was a child. There was another feeling buried there, and try as I might all attempts to bury it again and again failed. This feeling was the worst one.

Abandonment.

Feelings freaking suck.

Mostly because feelings were keeping me from getting my beauty rest. Instead I was sitting here on a ridiculously large leaf contemplating life. Uhg, I was like some sob in one of Okaa-chan's romance novels. Minus a hottie and some ridiculous sub plot. Instead I get saddled with doubting the worth of my own being and a humid night. Seriously, why did everyone think it was a good idea for me to be out on this stupid hunt. My father, if the man could be called that, had left me before I was even born. I probably shouldn't resent him so much, but every girl wants a father right?

Just kidding.

I could careless

Had you fooled there for a second didn't I?

My self worth debacle came from a few facts that had been discussed tonight. First off, the toads refused to tell me his name. Not their place. Blah blah. Second bit of information I got was that he was apparently a incredible shinobi. Trained by the toads themselves on something called Sage Mode. Didn't ask about it. Wasn't interested. My own abilities were nothing to scoff at. Pretty sure I could take him in a fight. Having youth on my side and what not. Evidently my dear old dad was some kind of legend. Pa was adimant that I would not best him in a fight. Fat lot of good any of this information did for me. With out a name I still didn't know where to start looking. Aside from the toads telling me he'd show up eventually. Once a month or something.

Details. Details.

Now for the most appalling part.

As far as looks go I was the spitting image of my father. Long white hair, though Ma pointed out mine was far straighter, was apparently a dead give away. The second big thing? Two long red lines that came down from my eyes. A weird birth mark of sorts. I'd always hated those marks since I was a child. If they weren't red I think I might have liked them more. Alas, there they were half way down my cheeks making my complexion rosier then I would have liked. Not to mention the red offset my bright green eyes. Our biggest difference.

The eyes.

My mother's eyes.

Worry not! I was going to change that right now! A brilliant idea formulated in my mind as I ran fingers through the long silky strands of my hair. White and lovely in the moonlight I stared at the ends. Perhaps there was too much joy in my system as I pulled a kunai from my hip. The sound of hair being shredded was exhilarating. A maniacal glee filled me as I watched the long white strands fall down to the ground below. Little wisps that flashed as the moonlight guided their descent. Good bye attribute that reminded people of that stupid man! Those were the words that crossed my mind as I literally waved to the last of my falling hair.

Abandoning my leaf I dropped to the ground. Wind ruffled my now chin length hair making the ends tickle my cheeks. Stepping towards a small puddle of stagnant water I surveyed my reflection. Call me vain, but I had to make sure I still looked presentable. Never know when some cutie will cross my path. Biting my lip I fluffed my bangs just a bit. Not my normal mature profile. I now looked a lot younger. Cuter instead of sexier.

That was a problem in my opinion

I'd have to figure something else out later. As of right now long white hair made me think of my father, and the last thing I wanted to do was think of my father as being sexy. The moment that thought crossed my mind I gagged. In a chain reaction of traumatizing images my brain linked a few things together. First I imagined a male version of myself. Then for some reason the clothes disappeared. Then Okaa-chan showed up in the picture.

GAH!

Sleep.

Definitely need sleep.

* * *

About a week passed before I finally started to settle into life on Mount Myoboku. For the most part no one really said anything about my sudden change in appearance. Aside from Ma who gave me a rather dubious look, but I imagine she'd dealt with teenage rebellion before. After all she had to deal with Gama-baka. That stupid idiot lacked a filter, and in the last week I've had to dodge god knows how many cooking utensils. Ma's wrath of unfathomable when it came to her cooking. He always had something snide to say about it. For the most part I agreed. Toad food was not ideal for a human, but food was food. Worrying about dying via flying spatula just made meals all the more entertaining.

Stupid Gamakichi

He's lucky I like him.

Speaking of, my orange amphibian friend was leading me to god knows where. Today had started out weird enough with him waking me before the sun even reared its head. Promises of adventure had tamed my murderous sleep haze. I appreciated everything the toads had been doing for me, but doing nothing was really starting to get on my nerves. Sitting idle gave me time to think. Thinking led to emotions that I wasn't ready to confront just yet. So Gamakichi's adventure seemed like a good way to pass some time.

What my delightful guide failed to tell me was how much we'd be hiking. Mount Myoboku is gorgeous don't get me wrong. There were leaves that were as big as some houses I'd seen in smaller villages. Since I'd arrived there hadn't been a single day of bad weather. Sure it was humid enough to make your hair frizz, but that was manageable. Scenery got boring after a while, and I found myself wanting to show Okaa-chan this place. She would have loved it. She never see it thought...

Aaaand now I was going down a path I didn't want to go down.

"Hey! Gama-baka! How much further? If you're trying to lure me into a trap to eat me you really didn't have to try so hard." I said in an unamused manner. I had a kunai in hand, and was twirling the end around my finger to try and stave off boredom.

"Keep your panties on. We're almost there. I promise this will be worth it." he called over his shoulder. In the last week we'd spent a lot of time together. Mostly because Ma and Pa are way to old to enjoy our humor. I'd learned quick the old toad's walking stick hurt a lot. If I had ever had any friends in my life they probably would have been a lot like Gamakichi. Able to handle a lot of teasing, and sarcastic as hell.

"Yeah, yeah. Pretty sure you said that about an hour ago. " after pausing for just a moment I gave the most dramatic sigh I could muster. "Seriously though, what in the hell are we doing out in the middle of no where."

He held up a fin and I gave the best 'I'm so not fucking amused' look I could muster. The prat didn't even see it because he was looking out at something. Feeling the need to complain further I opened my mouth and sucked in a breath. Gamakichi looked over his shoulder and held up a fin to his lips to silence me. Oddly enough he looked deadly serious as he hopped towards a bush.

Stupid curiosity.

Unable to stop the nagging need to see what he was looking at I followed. Putting my hands on his shoulders I leaned against him and peered over his shoulder. He grunted as if annoyed when my weight settled on his back. Comically I rested my chin on the top of his head and looked about. He tried briefly to jostle me off, but his efforts didn't have a whole lot of heart behind them.

"You're so ridiculous, you know that? You should feel privileged to even be near us toads." he feigned annoyance.

"Rare chosen few get to visit. Once in a life time.. yeah, yeah. What are you looking for. It better be good." he gave a disgruntled sigh and turned his head to the right. Seeing as I was resting my chin on his head I was forced to look the same direction. Know what I saw?

A big ass snake.

* * *

I was so going to regret this.

That was the thought that passed through my head as I finished the final stroke of orange paint on the purple snake. Gama-baka had gotten the paint from a storage scroll he'd brought with him. Apparently it was my job to pain the slithery creature, who was twice Gamakichi's size, and then 'phase' two would take place. My amphibian friend didn't tell me what that phase entailed, but I was hard up for entertainment. So using the orange paint I basically went to town. I drew little frogs. I also wrote 'I love toads' in random spots. Needless to say the giant snake looked pretty ridiculous.

Each stroke made me hold my breath. I was pretty damn quiet, but figured the feeling of being painted would wake the creature. Snakes apparently slept harder then I thought. At least this one did. He didn't budge the entire time. I was pretty confident I'd get out with out being caught. Then Gamakichi put phase two into motion.

"Hey Aoda!" He called from the tree line. My head whipped around so fast I swear my spine snapped. Gaping I watch that stupid frog send a ball of fire towards us. Squeaking I dodged to the side to avoid being singed. Said fireball landed precariously close to Aoda's head.

That woke him up.

Green snake eyes shot open, and the first thing they saw was the ball of flame. Understandable the snake was rather confused and startled. Hissing it did a weird flail and wiggled away from the fire. Then he saw the bright orange on his scales. His expression turned from confused to irritated. Next to me the bucket rolled, and my stomach clenched as that gaze landed on me.

Regret incomming.

"Uh... I'm going to start running now.."

"You're going to die."

Two seconds later that smushed hog nosed face came flying my direction mouth open and fangs visible. Using a replacement jutsu I made to escape. There was a hiss of anger as Aoda lifted his head and crushed the poor log in his jaws. Pushing chakra into my legs I ran incredibly fast towards Gamakichi. Like an idiot he was waving at me not to come his direction.

"You're supposed to be distracting him! Run the other way. The other way!" he shouted at me. I jumped over his head and landed on a branch on the tree behind him.

"Yeah, and get eaten by a snake. Jeez! I know you're nice, but sharing food? You could at least do me a favor and eat me yourself. Now you're sacrificing me?" I said in fake anger. To be fair I wasn't scared. There was a lot of adrenaline pumping through my veins, but I didn't fear for my life.

This was kind of fun.

"I'm not sacrifi- shit!" he said as a tail went to wrap around him. Using a little to much strength he jump straight up. A low whistle passed through my lips as I followed his shadow.

"Damn, cleared the trees and everything."

"TOAD! I should have known! Only you would have put a human up to this." yelled Aoda. Gamakichi came crashing through the branches to my left. He had a grin on his face.

"I have no idea what you're talkin' about Aoda. Though, I've got to say I never knew you were a fan." he teased. I forgot to mention, written on the snake's forehead was 'I love Gamakichi'. Aoda flung his head into a nearby tree and I was forced to jump a different direction.

"Uh, he's pretty pissed. Maybe we should go." I said landing next to Gamakichi. From the looks of it the snake was a lot like my friend. Which means there were probably more. One explosion and all this noise would probably bring them our way soon.

"Yeah, I have a feeling Manda might show his ugly mug if we don't dip. Last one back has to help Gramps with cleaning the toad statues." he said hopping away.

That jerk took a head start!


End file.
